


What Happens On The Bus Stays On The Bus

by ghostrally



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, F/M, First Dates, Kissing, Mild Language, Multi, Slow Burn, Teenagers, Truth or Dare, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, Zoo, aquarium dates, bus rides, but only slightly - Freeform, slow burn marinette/nino, theyre like sixteen yall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-08-02 21:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16313087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostrally/pseuds/ghostrally
Summary: Just as Marinette swears off boys when trying to recover from her unrequited crush on Adrien, Nino starts to realize that he has feelings for her. What happens when they are pushed into situations they can't control by their scheming classmates on a field trip?





	1. Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> I've really been wanting some more Ninette so I made my own!!! This fic is very...LOOSELY based off of trips in high school with my classmates and camps, so buckle up ;)
> 
> This is my very first fic, so if you have suggestions or comments, be sure to let me know!!! I will read every single one.
> 
> Special thanks to @siderealsandman for proofreading! <3

Alya hunched over on the chaise, scribbling furiously into a notebook. Numerous study guides, hastily-copied notes, and broken pencils were scattered across the floor as she and Marinette pushed through the second hour of their study session. They’d already been bullshitting their way through chemistry worksheets and French Lit. essays for what felt like ages. Marinette waded through the mass of papers and plopped down beside her, propping her chin on her hand.

“I’m done,” she announced, her voice monotone.

Alya gave a short laugh. “With Mme.’s Brodeur's bullshit? Yeah, me too. How does she  _ really _ expect us to finish a whole packet when she hasn’t even taught us anything?”

“No, Al. I’m done. With boys.”

Alya turned to her friend, red hair whipping behind her.

“ _ What? _ ” she asked incredulously.

“You heard me,” Marinette replied, a smirk creeping onto her face.

Alya blinked, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously, growing a mischevious smile of her own.

“Oh  _ really, _ ” she said sarcastically. “So you’re telling me that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is suddenly just  _ over _ her all-consuming crush of two years on Angelbutt McGreste?”

Marinette’s cheeks gave a small blush, but she didn’t break eye contact.

“Yep!” she chirped, a determined look on her face.

The interrogation began.

“So...no more drooling in chemistry?”

“Nope!”

Alya leaned in further. “No more tripping over your own shadow when he walks into homeroom?”

Marinette mirrored her. “Never again.”

“No more ‘secret-admirer’ gifts? No more sidelong glances? No more stuttering? No more chasing around Mr. Model?  _ After two years? _ ”

Marinette’s face was flushed with red now, all the way to the tips of her ears–but her voice remained steady in her reply.

“No. I’m over it.”

A brief pause. A quirked eyebrow. Alya’s voice was curious, but soft when she spoke.

“What makes you so sure?”

Marinette sighed, looping a finger into her hair and shaking out her pigtails. The raven-haired girl leaned back onto the pink cushions, dropping her goofy demeanor for a more serious tone.

“It’s just…” she trailed off a bit, looking down at her hands. Marinette pursed her lips as she carefully searched for the right words.

“It was exhausting.”

“...Oh?”

Marinette looked up at her friend.

“Yeah. It was just...plain exhausting, you know? Just...pining after someone who didn’t notice...or care to bother. I wasted  _ so _ much time–getting flustered and nervous and distracted by him and for what?”

Despite the resignation in her tone, a soft smile rested on her face-.

“Nothing!” She forced out a tired laugh. “Nothing. And there’s no point in wasting my time and energy and  _ feelings _ on nothing.”

Alya couldn’t help but smile too. She couldn’t help but agree after seeing her best friend struggle and suffer from her unrequited love; so many teary nights, frustrating class periods, and ultimately failed last-ditch attempts to set the two of them up together. And Alya had to admit: Marinette’s crush could be a little exhausting for her emotions, too. But now, Marinette smiled so confidently back at her, so sure of her own words.

Alya fell back into the cushions next to her with a soft  _ whoomph!  _ and squeezed an arm around her friend.

“Oh  _ Mari _ , thank goodness!” she laughed. “I’m glad you’re over it. And...I’m sorry, too. I wish it could have worked out for you guys.”

Marinette shrugged, or, did her best to shrug while being squished. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling above them where posters and magazine cutouts of Adrien Agreste–international fashion model and too-kind-classmate–used to hang.

“It’s fine. Serves me right for crushing on a celebrity anyway.”

Alya snorted. “Yeah, those usually don’t tend to work out, do they? I mean, girls have always had crushes on celebrities...You were just unlucky enough to have yours sit in front of you in English!”

“Right?!”

The girls laughed.

“You know Mar,” Alya started, giving her friend’s cheek a childish poke, “it’s about damn time. To be honest, you were getting pretty annoying about it.”

“Hey!” Marinette exclaimed, pushing her away. “How  _ daaare _ you?” she sniffed, pretending to be offended, ”You’’re the one who was always scheming to get us together!”

Alya crossed her arms, looking down her nose. “And what kind of best friend would I be if I hadn’t?”

“Whatever,” Marinette retorted, rolling her eyes. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy pulling strings.”

“I just wanted you to shut up about him.” The redhead clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes, putting on a high-pitched, mocking impression of her friend. “ _ Oh Alya, Adrien’s so perfect and beautiful, and I KNOW we are destined to be married someday even though I can’t say a single sentence to him _ , uh,  _ blah blah blah and also his cute butt _ !”

“Shut your mouth, Cesaire!!!”

Marinette practically tackled her friend off of the chaise, both girls bursting into a fit of giggles. Their laughs eventually dissolved into chuckles, and then the room was quiet again. The two sat in silence for a moment, considering the mess of papers around them that demanded their attention. Then, Alya whirled around to face her friend with a devious glint in her eyes.

“ _ Sooo _ …” she drawled, waggling her eyebrows, “if you’re done with boys, does that mean you’re finally gonna come around and start goin’ for girls now?”

Marinette blinked, briefly shellshocked by the question out of the blue. Then, she erupted into another roar of laughter.

“Ha! Haha! You! Hahaha...wish!” she managed between breaths. “Even if I did, I  _ certainly _ wouldn’t go for  _ you _ of all people.”

“Aw, come on Miss Cheng, gimme a chance!!!”

Alya lunged. Marinette threw her arms out, unable to control her laughter, trying feebly to block against the feigned advances of her friend.

“Oh, shut  _ up _ !!!”

“Why don’t you make me?”

“ _ Ew _ !”

* * *

 

“ _ Ew _ !”

Adrien grinned at Nino, disgust in his voice but a goading look in his eyes. 

_ “Nino has a crush on a GIRL _ ,” he continued, his mocking now taking up an impressive falsetto, “ _ dontcha know girls have COOTIES _ ?”

“Ha-ha,” Nino deadpanned, sinking another goal with a loud  _ thwack _ of the foosball table. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up Mr. Model–not like I got a million and one girls lining up outside my door every day.”

“Hey,” the blonde defended, “ you  _ know _ that those fangirl advances aren’t exactly welcome. I can’t help it–unfair of you to pull the model thing when you know it’s out of my control.”

“Unfair of me?  _ ‘I can’t help it,’ _ ” Nino echoed, “way to sound like a douche.”

Adrien barked a short laugh.

“Alright, that’s fair...but just because you’re right doesn’t mean you can beat me.”

“Oh really,” Nino grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, bring it on,  _ loverboy.” _

Nino glanced up to shoot a glare at Adrien’s shit-eating grin, only to give his opponent the perfect opportunity to score on him. Another loud  _ thwunk _ and Adrien let out a whoop of victory.

Nino, crossed his arms, his voice flat.

“You know, I think ‘loverboy’ is an objectively better title than ‘douche’ on all levels.”

Adrien shrugged, laughing. “Pfft, fine. You’re right again.”

Nino was just about to load another ball into the slot again when the other boy stopped him.

“What?” he asked.

The model leaned in. “Well, aren’t you gonna tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

Adrien rolled his eyes, suppressing a groan. “Come on, dude, don’t play dumb with me. Who’s the girl?”

A soft blush slowly spread across Nino’s face, and he fidgeted with the brim of his ballcap.

“W-Well–”

“ _ –OOOH! _ ” Adrien cut him off. Unfortunately, that little show didn’t go unnoticed. “Wow, what was that?” he asked, his voice a downright squeal. A catlike grin spread across his features, a look that Nino only knew too well; he wasn’t going to get off the hook that easy.

“Ughh,” he groaned, making a beeline for the couch with a cheeky Cheshire in tow. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Excuse me? Do my own eyes deceive me? Or was that a _blush_ I just saw, Monsieur Lahiffe?”

Much to his chagrin, another shade of red bloomed under his glasses at the mention. If there was one thing Nino Lahiffe hated, it was how easily flustered he could get.

“H-Hey, I didn’t come here for you to tease me! I just–I don’t KNOW, man!” He trailed off, his eyes starting to cloud over with thought. “She’s just...so great and amazing and,” another blush, ” _ cute _ . I just don’t wanna mess things up, you know?”

When Nino finished, he looked up to see Adrien positively  _ beaming _ at him.

“ _ WILL YOU KNOCK THAT OFF?!?” _

Adrien gave a soft laugh, holding his hands up in defense.

“Haha, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to tease you or anything that time. I’m just an absolute sucker for romance.”

Nino rolled his eyes.

“Trust me, I know,” he scoffed. “That’s why I’m here.”

Adrien settled himself on the other side of the couch across him, leaning forward ever so slightly. 

“So,” he started, “what’s she like? ...You know, apart from ‘amazingly cute?”

A pillow was launched right into Adrien’s face.

“Amazing and cute,” Nino sniffed, “not that it matters.”

Adrien scoffed. “So?”

“So…” Nino fiddled with his hat again. Coughed. “Um...you kind of already know her…”

If Nino had thought that Adrien had calmed down a bit, what he had just said seemed to flip a switch and push him back up to his former intensity.

“WHAT?!?” the blonde shouted incredulously. “You mean like, she’s in our class?!”

“I guess you could say that,” Nino responded gloomily, crossing his arms.

“Is it Alya?” Adrien asked quickly.

Nino blinked, surprised by how immediate the question was.

“Uh, no, actually. Why?”

“Really?? Huh. I dunno, you guys just seem like you would be perfect for each other.”

“Says who?”

“Says a lot of people, I guess.”

Nino scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, in another life I guess. No, it’s not Alya.”

“Hm. Alix?”

“No.”

“Juleka?”

“Nope.”

“Chloe?”

“ _ Fuck _ no.”

Adrien slumped, propping his head on his hand thoughtfully. A few moments later, however, he smacked his forehead, snapped from his trance.

“Well duh!” he exclaimed. “How did I not think of it first? It’s so obvious!”

Nino, caught off guard by his comment, leaned forward.

“Huh? What do you mean obv–”

“ _ Marinette! _ ”


	2. Chapter 2

Nino’s eyes widened until they were the size of saucers. He was suddenly very thankful that he was sitting down, otherwise, he would have undoubtedly fallen over. Adrien pumped his fist triumphantly as another blush colored his friend’s face.

“Yes! I got it, didn’t I?”

“Well–” Nino stammered out, “W–Well, yeah–um, yeah, I guess s-so, but how–?” He cleared his throat, a new panic settling in his chest. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Sorry?”

“My crush!!! Do you really think it’s that obvious? Do you think...she knows?”

Adrien paused, seeming to consider this for a moment. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“No,” he said finally.

“Then why did you say it was obvious?”

Adrien looked at his friend. “Well, I think it’s just because you both are so comfortable around each other, y’know? That’s what I see, anyway. Didn’t you say you guys have known each other since kindergarten?”

Nino scratched the back of his neck.

“Preschool, actually…”

Adrien gave a low whistle.

“Yeah…” Nino trailed off quietly, suddenly becoming lost in thought. He and Marinette had basically grown up together. They were part of the handful of kids who had, somehow, always been placed in the same classes, all the way up into high school. Nino hadn’t always had a crush on her, of course; it had just seemed to creep up on him. It hadn’t been until this last summer that he’d realized his feelings for her. He’d seen those same, bouncing pigtails for years, but it wasn’t until recently that he saw  _ her.  _ How could he  _ not _ fall for that biting wit, her goofy awkwardness, or that familiar, heartwarming laugh that he knew only too well?

Nino coughed, realizing that he’d gone silent for too long. When he looked up, his eyes were met with Adrien’s trademark Cheshire grin.

“You’re blushing. Whatcha thinkin’ about, Nino?”

“God, I hate you.”

Adrien launched into a hearty bout of laughter. “Haha, what?” he shrugged, “I guess I’m just a complete sap. And by the looks of it, you are too.”

Nino flushed, but he couldn’t deny it either. Suddenly, a new fear struck him as a thought sunk to his stomach.

“Oh shit!!!” he exclaimed.

Adrien jumped. “What? What is it?”

“Don’t we have chemistry due tomorrow?”

“Crap, you’re right. Ah well, at least we have time to do it on the bus.”

Nino blinked, confused.

“Bus?”

 

* * *

 

“Bus?”

Alya rolled her eyes for the third time that morning, and it wasn’t even 8:00.

“ _ Oh my God, Mari,  _ pleeease don’t tell me you forgot about our field trip today.”

Marinette slowly turned from her perch at the window where a bright yellow school bus was parked and running outside.

“...Bus?” she repeated, her voice a panicked whisper. “Oh no.”

Alya slid her hand down her face. “Well, you turned in your permission slip, right?”

“Y-Yes, but, I mean, that was last  _ week _ , how was I supposed to remember..?” Marinette stammered frantically, finally letting her words fizzle out in defeat. She groaned and hung her head, dark hair hanging in front of her face.

Alya sighed. “Do you at least have your purse??? You’ll need it for food money today.”

Marinette’s face blanched to a pale white as Alya let out another groan.

“UGHHH, MARINETTE! I swear this happens every time!” She pointed her arm at the door, one hand on her hip. “ You live on the next block, run home and get it before we leave! And hurry–we’re loading up in, like, five minutes!”

“Eep!” Marinette squeaked. “Y-You’re right!”

And with that, the dark-haired girl tore past the desks and out the door–and right into whoever was walking in. Marinette ricocheted off something solid and brought her hand up to her head, wincing. She looked up only to find that ‘something’ was actually a ‘someone.’

“Oh, crap! Uh, sorry Nino!”

She took off again, throwing a waving hand behind her. If she had stopped for a moment longer, she would have seen a very sleepy, very  _ flustered _ Nino blush in all his bed-headed glory.

“Oh, uh–i-it’s fine,” he stammered after her, too late for her to hear. Adrien, who had followed him in, elbowed him with a knowing smile on his face. Nino rolled his eyes and stepped into the classroom, rubbing his eyes. 

“Well, that’s one way to wake me up, I guess,” he mumbled. “‘S too early for this.”

“You’re such a drama queen, Nino,” Alya said. She stepped toward the two, shouldering her bag. “This is hardly any earlier than when we’re usually here for school.”

“Your point?”

Adrien laughed. “Hey Alya, what was that all about? Everything okay with Marinette?”

The redhead scoffed. “Psh, nothing out of the ordinary, she just forgot about our field trip. Again.”

They all exchanged knowing looks and laughed.

“Remember that time we went to the Louvre?” Adrien asked. “The bus almost ditched her because she was so late!”

“Ha, yeah. Hopefully, we don’t get another repeat of the Arc de Triomphe incident either,” Alya smirked. 

A pink head of choppy hair bounced over to them. “I’m surprised Mme. Mendeleiev even accepted her permission slip,” Alix Kubdel pitched in, a wiry grin creeping onto her face. “I can’t remember a single field trip where Marinette didn’t do  _ something _ .”

Adrien and Alya laughed with her light-heartedly.

“ _ Um, _ ” Nino mumbled, fingering his hat, “I know we all like teasing Marinette, but it’s, uh, a little less fun when she’s not able to hear us…”

Alix eyed him for a moment, shrugged, and turned to Alya about something. Nino looked down at his phone scroll through his playlists, unaware of Adrien’s knowing sideways glance.

Students milled about the classroom, each carrying a blanket, a pillow, a stuffed animal, or all three. The class was small enough that the students didn’t have to double-up on the bus, meaning each kid would be free to sprawl out over a whole seat each. The prospect of having a morning nap was almost as exciting as the field trip itself. Just as Rose was complimenting Mylene’s armful of Pillowpets, a sharp whistle cut through the chatter. Mme. Mendeleiev stood at the door, scowling at her pupils.

“Load up!” she barked, “the bus is leaving and we gotta get on the road before we get caught up in traffic!”

It was mere minutes before the students were filing one-by-one onto the bus, with the exception of Alix and Le Chien Kim nearly climbing over each other to race to the seats in the back. As Mme. Mendeleiev’s shrill voice reprimanded them, Adrien nudged Alya.

“D’ya think she’ll make it?” he whispered nervously.

Alya looked over her shoulder at him as she loaded her bag onto the overhead rack. “I sure hope so.”

Nino took up a seat on the left aisle, nervously twiddling with the cord of his headphones. Adrien took the seat behind him, and Alya sat across the aisle, casually propping her feet up on the edge of Adrien’s chair. She glanced out the dirty window to the patisserie across the street, then back at Adrien. “I have no doubt her mom would ground her for missing another trip, especially since we get points for Biology…”

Her voice trailed off as someone hollered a few seats behind them. Chloe Bourgeois pointed a perfectly manicured nail towards the street, laughing behind her hand. The rest of the class followed suit, watching a very flustered Marinette trip over her own feet at the crosswalk. Alya scowled, but before she could say anything, the bus hissed and lurched forward. The whooping and hollering on the bose crescendoed. 

Alya swore as Adrien facepalmed across from her.

“ _ Oooh, _ I swear, I’ll kill that girl once she’s ungrounded a  _ month _ from now,” she muttered under her breath. 

Nino watched from the window as Marinette sprinted across the street, waving her arms. He stood up and raced toward the front of the bus.

“Yo, you gotta stop,” he yelled over the noise at the bus driver. “There’s still somebody who has to get on!”

The old man behind the wheel huffed, not looking back at him.

Nino craned his neck to look back at her. Marinette was only a few meters away...she was waving her arms and shouting something. The bus was hardly moving at all, she could still catch up–if only the door weren’t closed…

For a moment, Nino’s eyes met Marinette’s. Then, without thinking, he reached forward and yanked on the lever of the door. Marinette jumped, and suddenly he was nose-to-nose with a panting, grinning Marinette. A collective cheer reverberated throughout the bus. Nino was so distracted by their proximity to one another (wow, he could almost count the freckles on her nose…), that he almost didn’t hear their teacher scolding him for being out of his seat. He ducked his head, tearing his eyes from hers, and made a beeline for his seat towards the back of the bus.

“Um, ah, good morning Mme. Mende–” Marinette started.

“Oh,  _ save _ it, Dupain-Cheng” the teacher interrupted, glaring at the girl over her square-rimmed glasses. “Get to your seat.”

Marinette stammered a bit, gave an embarrassed smile, and then climbed up the steps to the bus. Almost of all of the seats were taken, every square inch of cracked brown leather covered with blankets and lounging students. The only open seats were at the front, meaning Marinette would have to sit alone under the glare of her teacher the whole ride…

“ _ Pssst!”  _ A voice from the back somehow cut through all the chatter. Marinette looked up to see–

Her heart thumped in her chest against her will.

_ Adrien? _

Adrien had a hand brought up to his face conspiratorially, the other beckoning her. 

“C’mon!” Adrien smiled. “Come sit back here, one of us could double-up.”

Marinette walked her way down the aisle, her eyes meeting Alya’s. She knew that they were both thinking the same thing:  _ No matter what, no Adrien! _

Another voice piped up. This time, it was Nino’s

“Uh–um, yeah! Marinette, I’ll share my seat with you…”

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, walking faster now.  _ Oh thank goodness,  _ she thought, relieved that she had an excuse not to sit with Adrien (when had she ever been relieved about something like that???). She was almost to Nino’s seat when the bus lurched again, and poor Marinette tumbled forward.

Another wave of laughter erupted from the class as she fell, half-sprawled across the seat. Her nose was mere centimeters away from what seemed to be a pre-historic gumwad stuck to the floor. She flushed, red to the tips of her ears, but still she gave an embarrassed smile and righted herself. It wasn’t until then that she realized that her legs had been completely stretched out over Nino’s lap.

“Um, sorry Nino!” she laughed despite herself.

Then, the entire bus was laughing–while the students loved to tease their class ditz, for the most part, it was in good fun. The students all burst into a fit of giggles...all except a blushing Nino, who was avoiding a suggestive wink from Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been five months! Yikes!!! 
> 
> Once again, feel free to leave suggestions/questions at the end,welcome to hell! and thanks again to @siderealsandman for proofreading the first half of it, and special thanks to @ladybeug on tumblr for inspiring me to continue with this fic!!! I'm very excited for everything coming up <3


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